1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to the combined measurement of eye movement and postural sway of a subject or patient. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for measuring eye movement and/or eye position and postural sway of a subject.
2. Background
Patients with damage to the inner ear balance system suffer from lack of head-eye coordination. That means, when these patients move the head, their vision becomes blurry and their balance function deteriorates accordingly. As one example of a cause, damage to the inner ear balance system may occur as a result of the patient sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion.
These patients with damaged inner ear balance systems are often given head-eye coordination exercises to regain function. However, with the conventional rehabilitation methods currently used, there is no way to quantify the head, eye, and postural movements during such exercises in order to determine if the patients are regaining the normal functionality of their inner ear balance systems.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for measuring eye movement and/or eye position and postural sway of a subject that provides quantification of head, eye, and postural movements during head-eye coordination exercises. Moreover, a system and method for measuring eye movement and/or eye position and postural sway of a subject or patient is needed that enables a patient's functional status to be objectively documented before, during, after therapy. Furthermore, a need exists for a system and method for measuring eye movement and/or eye position and postural sway of a subject or patient that enables a medical condition to be assessed (e.g., a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion) so that the proper treatment procedures can be implemented.